Comparison

The Kitchen Pickleball vs Game Maker

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The Kitchen Pickleball

Features
Read full description

The Kitchen was founded with a simple yet powerful idea: to create a home where pickleball players and enthusiasts could unite. What started as a passion project has grown into the world’s largest community of pickleball lovers, connecting players worldwide. From humble beginnings, The Kitchen has grown into something truly extraordinary—a place where players and fans find meaningful connections and shared experiences. Thank you for your unwavering support and for being an essential part of this incredible journey. Together, we are The Kitchen.

About

Game Maker

Organize pickleball games, find nearby courts, and connect with players. Create custom game formats, manage groups, and communicate with other players.

Highlights
  • Find nearby games and courts
  • Connect with players by DUPR, age, gender
  • Create private groups and chat
  • Organize games with custom formats
  • Scramble, Round Robin, King of the Court modes
  • DUPR rating sessions
Features
Read full description

Game Maker is made for pickleball — the one app you open before, during, and after every session. Find courts and players near you, set up games in seconds, run brackets, track your DUPR rating, and stay connected with the people you play with. Whether you're organizing your regular doubles group or chasing your next rating bump, Game Maker keeps your whole pickleball life in one place. Meet Pickles AI Just ask. Say "set up a private game Saturday morning at 9am with my advanced players group" and Pickles AI — with voice dictation — turns it into a real, confirmable game inside the app. Organizing play has never been this fast. Your games, on your Calendar Every game you create syncs straight to your iPhone's Calendar, including recurring sessions — so your schedule lives where you already look. Find your game • Discover nearby courts and players on the map • Filter by distance to find games that fit • Host or join games and manage invites Play & compete • Build round-robin and tournament brackets • Record match scores • Head-to-head history and leaderboards Track your progress • Connect your DUPR rating • See 90-day performance trends and match insights • Follow your improvement over time Stay connected • Add friends and create groups • Message the players you play with • Game Maker player indicators so you know who's on the app Play anywhere — now in 24 languages Game Maker automatically matches your device language, or pick from 24 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Turkish, and more. Download Game Maker and play more pickleball. By using Game Maker, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Privacy Policy: https://pickleball.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://pickleball.com/terms-of-use

Screenshots

The Kitchen Pickleball2 screens
Game Maker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Kitchen Pickleball at none against Game Maker's 4. Game Maker's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Game Maker sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. The Kitchen Pickleball asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Kitchen Pickleball ships an update every 3 weeks, Game Maker every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
The Kitchen Pickleball versus Game Maker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Kitchen PickleballGame Maker
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.8 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—63.6% of reviews
Number of ratings—18 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB152 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPINGPOD INCPickleball TopCo LLC

In-app purchases

None

The Kitchen Pickleball

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Game Maker

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Access$4.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly Access$19.991 Month
  • Yearly Access$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Annual Access$199.991 Year

Questions

Is The Kitchen Pickleball free?
The Kitchen Pickleball is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Game Maker free?
Game Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do The Kitchen Pickleball or Game Maker have ads?
Both The Kitchen Pickleball and Game Maker show ads.
Which is updated more often, The Kitchen Pickleball or Game Maker?
The Kitchen Pickleball ships an update every 3 weeks, and Game Maker every 8 days. Most recently, The Kitchen Pickleball was updated on October 28, 2026 and Game Maker on October 28, 2026.

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